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VIDEO: Christie's takes Elizabeth Taylor's jewels on world tour

HONG KONG (AP) - A sampling of Elizabeth Taylor's jewels has been touring the world so people can see them up close before they're sold at auction in a few weeks.

That was something Taylor wanted.

An executive with Christie's auction house said Christie's and Taylor had been "planning this sale for a very long time," adding that "[Taylor] wanted to share the jewelry with everybody else."

The jewels spent Thanksgiving weekend in Hong Kong. Now they'll be taken to New York where they'll be on display starting Saturday.

The auction is Dec.13-16 and includes not only her jewels, but also art, designer clothing and other things Taylor owned. Some of the money will go to her AIDS foundation.

Elizabeth Taylor died in March.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE PLUS PREVIEW VIDEO:

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The legendary jewelry and fashion collections of Elizabeth Taylor, the so-called "Crown Jewels of Hollywood," went on glittering display Thursday in New York before a hotly anticipated auction. Click below to view mages and hear soundbites from the press preview at Christie's New York gallery. Video copyright AFP:

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Last Updated on Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:06

VIDEO: Report from NY Comic Con, pop culture haven

Written by TIFFANY MAMONE & BRIDGET BROSNAN for ACN

Tuesday, 18 October 2011 10:24

NEW YORK (ACNI) - The New York Comic Con took place this past weekend- October 13th to October 16th, 2011 - at the Javits Center. ‪As stated on Comic Con's website, NYCC is the ‬East Coast's biggest popular culture convention, bringing together fans with interests in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies and television.

At this year's mega event there were panels and autograph sessions, plus sneak peeks at films and television shows. It is a place for fans to feel at home in an environment where they are surrounded by their fellow fanboys and girls, and the superstar artists and creators of visual pop culture.

We arrived at the Javits Center on West 34th Street on Friday, October 14th, to a huge crowd of people, lined up and waiting to enter. Our first stop upon arrival was the Marvel booth, where we met with Matthew Senreich, the co-creator and executive producer of Robot Chicken. Robot Chicken, for those who may not be familiar with it, is an American stop-motion animated TV series that airs on Cartoon Network. As he walked through Comic Con, Senreich was very unassuming, giving fans a wave and a smile when they shouted out his name.

After finding a less-crowded area off the main floor, we sat down to chat with Matt about the upcoming season and what surprises fans can expect to see in the future. We asked him about previous guest stars and learned about an upcoming 100th episode special involving a collaboration with DC Comics. He spoke about how he and Seth Green, along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root, continue to keep the show fresh and funny after five seasons. He explained, "We're just a bunch of friends hanging out in the writer's room making each other laugh. And if we're able to do that, we hope the rest of the world is laughing with us." After saying our goodbyes and thanking Matt for his time, we all proceeded downstairs to enjoy the rest of Comic Con.

We made our way to the North Pavilion to visit the Propworx team, including CEO Alec Peters, Curtis Short, Dean Newbury and Damaris Degen. Propworx Inc. serves the movie and television industry by selling the assets of movie and TV productions in high-end auctions created specifically for that property.

Propworx's upcoming sale, "Iron Man 2 & The Incredible Hulk Auction," will take place on October 22nd, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. The Propworx team had had many of the items from the auction on display at their booth, and we were able to see Tony Stark's suitcase used in the Iron Man film, as well as various costumes and props.

Back on the show floor, we visited numerous booths and took a look around before getting to meet with Daniel Simmons Jr., an abstract expressionist painter. He is the older brother of hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons and rapper/Run DMC legend Joseph Simmons (a k a "Rev. Run"). Daniel Simmons is also the co-founder and chairman of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation (since 1995), which provides disadvantaged urban youth with arts access and education. On top of that, he is a comic book fan. Mr. Simmons was kind enough to take some time to speak withLiveAuctioneers CEO Julian R. Ellison regarding his love of comics and his experience at the convention. He said he often purchases his comics at Metropolis Comics and Collectibles here in New York City but loves to come to New York Comic Con for "impulse buys."

Mr. Simmons noted that Metropolis had recently sold a comic book for $1.5 million and observed that as the economy goes down, comics often increase in value.

Julian Ellison agreed with Mr. Simmons and added his own perspective: "I'm thinking about what's going on in the world with the economy," he said, "but at this particular event you would never think there was anything wrong with the world at all. This is just incredible."

Our visit to Comic Con was great fun. Creative costumes were abundant, and the crowds were out in full force. Regardless of what might have been happening downtown on Wall Street, the mood at the Javits Center was nothing but optimistic, which points to only a positive future for pop culture.

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Copyright 2011 Auction Central News International. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

VIDEO: Photographer captures 9/11 memories on film

Written by AFP Wire Service

Friday, 09 September 2011 12:31

NEW YORK - For the past 10 years, photographer Jonathan Hyman has captured shots of frescos, altars, and other folklore memorials commemorating the September 11 attacks. His New York exhibit illustrates how people across the US grieved through art.

Click below to view a voiced report. Copyright AFP.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:12

VIDEO: 'Google Doodles' marks 13th birthday with Freddie Mercury

Written by AFP News Service

Tuesday, 06 September 2011 10:04

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - This year marks the Google Doodles' 13th birthday, and what a year it's been. The doodlers, tasked with animating the Google logo, have taken the feature to new heights, adding interactive video and social networking capabilities. Google's latest Doodle celebrates another birthday, that of music legend Freddie Mercury.

Click below for a voiced AFPTV report:

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 September 2011 13:02

VIDEO: Fringe artists create unique lighthouse relay project

Written by ACNI Staff

Friday, 26 August 2011 16:14

FOLKESTONE, England (ACNI) – The International Lighthouse Relay is a project involving 14 lighthouses around the world and more than 45 artists who’ve collaborated under the auspices of the Folkestone Fringe, which runs through Sept. 25, 2011. From points as farflung as Ireland and New Zealand, Korea and Argentina, the artists have merged their talents and creativity to celebrate lighthouse structures through inspiring artworks.

Award-winning British artist Jonathan Wright explained the concept behind the Relay: “At each location, a sound recording is made. The sound is then passed on to the next artist, who adds, distorts or morphs the sound with his or her own input. Eventually, the relay comes full circle, and the first artist receives a sound work that is the culmination of 14 interventions – a kind of ‘sound cloud.’”

Wright said works have included the insertion of Morse Code, foghorns, ringing bells and even people drumming on the walls of the lighthouse to create music. Wright’s contribution was produced in response to The Old Lighthouse at Dungeness, in the English county of Kent.

“This particular lighthouse is situated close to where Guglielmo Marconi first transmitted radio signals across the English Channel and also to where John Logie Baird developed the first television,” Wright said. “The work contains a tiny copy of Baird's first mechanical ‘televisor.’ The image it shows is a film of the Dungeness Lighthouse, thereby linking the two forms of communication. These early televisions used sound to create an image, an irony that allows me to produce both sound and image in the work.”

The Lighthouse Relay project aims to highlight the continued importance of the world’s remarkable lighthouse structures, which have been used since ancient times, e.g., the Pharos at Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Wright said the primitive form of communication lighthouses represent still has a place in modern society and describes lighthouses as “romantic and isolated, while at the same time inherently heroic, withstanding weather and the extremes of nature to protect us.”

“The sighting of the lighthouse represents a moment of safety, a place of sanctuary. They are an irresistible metaphor for artistic endeavor,” Wright said.

Click below to view a BBC Television report on The International Lighthouse Relay, featuring an interview with artist Jonathan Wright:

Copyright 2011 Auction Central News International. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 December 2011 17:37

VIDEO: Germany celebrates 125 years of the automobile

Written by AFP News Service

Wednesday, 24 August 2011 11:55

STUTTGART, Germany - This year Germany is celebrating the birth of the automobile, which dates back to a motorized tricycle patent applied for by Carl Benz 125 years ago in Mannheim, western Germany. For the anniversary, the exhibition "Art & Stars & Cars" of the Daimler art collection is on show at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart for the first time.

Click below to view a natural-sound report from the exhibition at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.

Video copyright AFP.

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 August 2011 15:19

VIDEO: Versailles exhibit compares modern fashion to 18th C.

Written by AFP News Service

Thursday, 18 August 2011 09:30

VERSAILLES, France - France may be well-known for its modern savoir-faire in the field of fashion, but these skills go back further than some might realize. A new exhibition at Versailles invites visitors to play "spot the difference" between Dior or Lacroix -- and some of the styles current in the 18th century. Click below to view a video report:

Video copyright AFP.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 18 August 2011 11:28

VIDEO: Va. Museum of Fine Arts displays Faberge treasures

Written by ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON, Associated Press

Wednesday, 10 August 2011 09:27

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Ornately jeweled Easter eggs designed by Karl Faberge for the Russian royal family are among hundreds of Faberge objects on display at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

"Faberge Revealed'' includes imperial Easter eggs and other pieces from VMFA's own collection, along with sculptures and other works loaned from three private collections, making the exhibit the largest public Faberge collection in the United States, said Geza von Habsburg, a Faberge expert and the exhibit's guest curator.

A standout piece is the Imperial Lilies of the Valley Basket sculpture, which represents all aspects of Faberge's artistry in one work, Habsburg said.

"One can see the jeweler's art in the pearl buds and little rosebud diamonds; the stonecutter's art in the nephrite leaves, which seem to be alive; and the goldsmith's art in the gold basket,'' he said. "And the moss, it's utterly amazing.''

It was presented to Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896, the year of the coronation of her husband, Nicholas II, Russia's last emperor. The work was her favorite, displayed on her desk until the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The couple and their children were executed the following year.

The exhibit, which ends Oct. 2, includes six eggs Nicholas presented to his wife and mother as Easter gifts, including the 1903 Imperial Peter the Great Easter Egg, the 1912 gold-and-lapis lazuli Imperial Tsesarevich Easter Egg and the 1912 gold-and-green enamel Imperial Napoleonic Egg.

Commissioned to mark the bicentennial of St. Petersburg, the Peter the Great Egg is crafted of gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies, sapphire and enamel with miniature watercolors on ivory. Inside is a miniature replica of Falconet's Bronze Horseman statue of the 17th-century emperor that rises when the egg is opened.

An imperial egg can fetch $25 million to $30 million at auction, Habsburg estimates. Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg bought nine imperial eggs from the Forbes collection in 2004; the Imperial Coronation Egg's purchase price, for example, was estimated between $18 million and $24 million, he said.

Faberge's company became supplier to the Imperial Court after he sold a piece of gold jewelry to Czar Alexander III's wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, in 1882. He then started his series of Imperial Easter eggs, which subsequently made him famous and forever linked him with the opulence of the Russian dynasty's final days.

With his four sons and his brother, Faberge employed a 40-person design studio in St. Petersburg and 500 craftsmen and other workers to create 150,000 unique objects, distinguishing the House of Faberge as the leading jeweler of the period.

"Each piece was one-of-a-kind, meaning there were no repetitions,'' Habsburg said. "That sets him aside from any other craftsman or jeweler of his time.''

Alexander gave his wife 30 eggs, and Nicholas II, Russia's final emperor, gave 20 to Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna.

The Bolsheviks destroyed most of the Faberge pieces during the revolution, melting the metal and selling the jewels and stones. Only a few hundred objects remain in Russia, Habsburg said.

The royal family's imperial eggs were confiscated, and eight disappeared during the revolution. Ten are in the Kremlin Armory Museum in Moscow. The Bolsheviks ordered the others sold between 1925 and 1933 through a government agency in charge of art sales; 42 eggs survive and are in both public and private collections.

Because he was a symbol of artistic decadence in the run-up to the overthrow, Faberge and three of his sons fled the country in 1918. A fourth son who remained in Russia was imprisoned. After Faberge's death in 1920, the sons tried unsuccessfully to revive the brand in Paris, Habsburg said.

"But if you think what the '20s were, it was the Art Deco period of flappers and jazz, so Faberge's beautiful things in the French 18th-century style were no longer in demand,'' he said.

The doomed Russian imperials fascinated many Americans, including Virginian Lillian Thomas Pratt, whose collection was bequeathed to VMFA after her death in 1947. Pratt, the wife of a General Motors executive, scrimped during a slumping economy to purchase items from 1933-45 with the help of New York art dealer Alexander Shaffer. She acquired the Imperial Peter the Great Egg in 1939, and was allowed to chip away at the $16,500 bill in monthly installments from 1942-44, museum accounting logs show.

She also acquired some of her objects from the businessman and art collector Armand Hammer, but some since have been determined to be knockoffs, Habsburg said. The exhibition also displays some of what he calls "Fauxberge'' items, including hardstone animal figurines and floral pieces.

VIDEO: London revives East End with Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Written by AFP Wire Service

Friday, 29 July 2011 09:48

LONDON - In preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games, London's East End has been given an environmental makeover. Formerly a bleak industrial landscape, the future Olympics site named the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is now a picturesque area that residents and visitors can enjoy.

Click below to view a video about the revitalized East End area.

Video copyright AFP.

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Last Updated on Friday, 29 July 2011 16:32

VIDEO: Indonesia's 'paradise lost' opens up to the intrepid

Written by AFP Wire Service

Tuesday, 05 July 2011 10:41

SENTAN, Indonesia - For decades, the only foreign visitors to venture into Papua were gold-seekers, anthropologists, missionaries and soldiers fighting imperial wars. But the vast, western half of New Guinea island is slowly opening its doors to tourists as a "hidden paradise," a land of ancient tribal cultures, glittering reefs, soaring glaciers and teeming wildlife. The annual festival brings together thousands of people from 24 communities scattered around the huge lake.

Click below to view a video by Romeo Gacad, copyright AFP.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 07 July 2011 15:15

VIDEO: Germany treated to exhibition of Elvis rarities

Written by Auction Central News International Staff

Monday, 13 June 2011 12:45

BAD NAUHEIM, Germany – A remarkable exhibition of Elvis memorabilia is now on view in Bad Nauheim, near Frankfurt Germany.

The exhibition consists of guitars, clothing, posters, records and other personal items that belonged to the King of Rock & Roll, who was stationed in Germany for 17 months with the U.S. Army.

Three German collectors of Elvis memorabilia collaborated to create the exhibition, which contains around 1,500 items. The display provides a rare opportunity for fans to view the Elvis mementos, which ordinarily are kept in banks vaults or elsewhere under lock and key.

The exhibition will run through Aug. 16, enabling visitors to this year’s 10th European Elvis festival – scheduled for Aug. 12-14 in Bad Nauheim – to enjoy the contents of the collections.